APPEALS COURT THROWS OUT DRUG CONVICTION AGAINST PRICE COUNTY MAN

WAUSAU, Wis. (AP) -- A man was wrongly convicted of growing marijuana
because sheriff' s deputies invaded his privacy in obtaining evidence, a
state appeals court ruled Tuesday.

Thomas Martwick, 47, of rural Phillips in Price County, pleaded guilty to
manufacturing marijuana after Circuit Judge Patrick Madden allowed
prosecutors to use evidence obtained in June 1997 search of his home.

Deputies found 29 marijuana plants growing in the basement and five pails
with marijuana growing in them on a trail near Martwick' s home, court
records said.

Martwick was sentenced to 90 days in jail and 18 months probation.

The 3rd District Court of Appeals overturned the conviction, ruling the way
deputies went about getting evidence to obtain the search warrant was
improper and violated Martwick' s constitutional right to privacy.

Based on information from an informant, Deputy Brian Roush went to
Martwick' s property June 9, 1997, and collected leaves from suspected
marijuana plants growing in pots on a trail some 50 to 70 feet from
Martwick' s home, court records said.

The leaves were used to convince a judge to issue a search warrant that led
to the seizure of the marijuana plants, court records said.

But the appeals court said the deputy invaded Martwick' s privacy in
obtaining the leaves.

" The nature and use of Martwick' s property demonstrates that the area
from which the leaves were seized was one of intimate activity and that
there was a reasonable expectation of privacy, " the three-judge panel
said.

Even the way Martwick kept the property, with unkempt wildflowers, brush
and weeds, provided evidence of his desire for privacy, the judges said.

" A person looking across the lot lines would have been unable to see the
marijuana in the pots, " the panel said.

Copyright 1998 Associated Press.

Checked-by: (Joel W. Johnson)